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Sound BlasterX Katana adds serious sound to your desktop

This week Creative Technology is launching the Sound BlasterX Katana, a new audio System for both cinema lovers and gamers, designed for both widescreens and multi-screen setups. Creative will launch the speaker in partnership with Massdrop, giving its community of tech enthusiasts and gamers the chance to be the first in the US to own the Sound BlasterX Katana.

The Sound BlasterX Katana is the world’s first Under-Monitor Audio System that comes with Creative’s most powerful multi-core audio DSP, doubling as a high-end Sound Blaster sound card/DAC that projects 24-bit high-resolution audio for amazing sound. Featuring a tri-amplified design that powers 5-drivers comprises of 2 up-firing midbass drivers, 2 high-excursion tweeters, and a long-throw subwoofer, each individually powered by a DSP-controlled amplifier for precise audio reproduction across the spectrum. Incorporating BlasterX Acoustic Engine and a Dolby Digital 5.1 decoder, the Sound BlasterX Katana was designed to give users immersive audio for games and movies. The audio system was crafted with brushed aluminium, and also features a programmable Aurora Reactive lighting system with 16.8 million colours.

“We’re extremely excited to be adding powerful gaming speaker solutions into the Sound BlasterX Pro-Gaming line of products. It’s time to bring back speakers for gaming, something we started more than 10 years ago with award-winning pro-gaming speakers like the GigaWorks series,” said Long Chye Low, General Manager of Creative.

“The Sound BlasterX Katana is a work of art. It is crafted in a sleek aluminium chassis to house an array of high-performance drivers individually driven by DSPs and amplifiers to ensure no compromise of audio quality. Internally, we affectionately called Katana, a UMAS which stands for Under-Monitor Audio System as it has a built-in Sound Blaster audio processor, the same audio processor used in Sound Blaster X7 as well as the Sound Blaster Z-series cards. Its sleek design allows it to be neatly placed under wide 4K monitors or multi monitors. Gamers can experience truly accurate immersive audio for today’s gaming, movie and music content. When it comes to connectivity, it caters to every part of a gamers lifestyle; including optical input for console gaming, and even Bluetooth for smart devices. Sound BlasterX Katana also features programmable 16.8 million colours Aurora Reactive lighting system which complements other similarly lighted gaming peripherals. The speakers not only sound great, they will take the atmosphere around your entertainment station to a whole new level.”

Sound BlasterX gaming speakers also come with BlasterX Acoustic Engine technology that provides access to tools to control every aspect of audio. It is designed to enhance gaming audio with immersive sound, bass boost, and added clarity. The Sound BlasterX Katana will be available (aside from local authorized dealers) for a limited time on Massdrop.com.

“We believe the Katana is going to redefine the options for desktop speakers for those with widescreens and multiple monitors,” said Ryan Schlieper, Product Marketing Manager for Gaming Audio at Creative.

“And the audience and customers at Massdrop are all about being on the cutting-edge of technology and spreading the word of technology that truly changes the game and sets a new standard for users all over the world. Katana is a mixture of elegance and hardcore technology that fits perfectly with the Massdrop community and we’re excited about this partnership that will get Katana into the hands of some of the most demanding customers out there. Just like the renowned legendary blades created by Japanese master craftsmen, we feel that our Katana is a robust and fierce addition to any gamer’s arsenal.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Creative in making the BlasterX series available here at Massdrop. It truly embodies the cutting-edge technology that our community looks for. And in line with Massdrop’s passion in delivering only the best products, we foresee many more collaborations and exciting Creative products to come,” said Brian Hutchins, Buying Manager at Massdrop.

Pricing and Availability

The Sound BlasterX Katana will be available from 22 November 2016 and will be priced at USD299.99 on Massdrop.com. It will subsequently be available on creative.com.